Posted on 14 Aug 2018
French mining company Eramet has continued its feasibility study to increase manganese production capacity of the mine in Moanda, Gabon, West Africa, to develop the mining plateau in Okouma. Operations will continue meanwhile at the company’s manganese deposit in Bangombé, Kallanish learns from the company’s first half 2018 report.
“… It is a key pillar in the Group’s organic growth strategy. In the short-term, another opportunity for production growth is being studied, particularly an incremental production increase with an alternative processing route for part of the ore of Bangombé,” the company says.
Through its subsidiary La Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué (Comilog) Eramet exploits one of the world’s largest manganese deposit in Moanda. Half-year mining production in Moanda in H1 2018 was 3% above that in H1 2017. Volumes of ore produced and transported were 1.85 million tonnes between January-June this year. The company also confirms its previously-announced target to achieve a record level of more than 4mt of ore produced and transported in 2018, Eramet says in the report. In H1 2018 external ore sales remained stable at 1.5mt.
The production increase was made possible by the performance of Eramet’s subsidiary Setrag, the company that manages the Transgabonais railway concession. Eramet has been ramping up manganese production at its Comilog operations in Gabon since 2016.
